General discussion

Do undegraduates with experience stand a chance to get hired?

I was just wondrin to hear comments from the group based from their experiences and locales if a person who happens to be an undergraduate but with experience stands a chance in the IT industry compared to newly Grads and degree holder?

All Comments

I would generally rather hire

a person that is already hands on trained and doing well in a position than a person who needs unlearning before they can start to get hands on training.

It really comes down to the individual though.

I would prefer a person who lived, slept and breathed networking in or out of school and had both verified excellent work performance and could demonstrate a deep understanding and knowledge in the field. School doesn't really have a lot to do with it. Conversely, to get to me through HR is a lot easier if you have a degree. They will also approve paying you more.

Better educated the more valued

I have found that a college education gives a good rounded experence base - so this person can stand up infront of executives and give a presentation - or write white papers - or do independent investigations and write a research paper -

I have found the certification folks are locked into one thing - that certification and need hand holded through a presentation or white paper or any other non-cert assignment they are tasked with.

And like you said it depends on the job - but give me that well rounded education - and I will show you a top performer in all tasks... give me a certification and I'll show you a performer in that certification only ...

This guys in the cat bird seat as they say... if the manager isn't affraid of his/her skills and talent...

How small minded

To say that the only type of individual that you can put in front of management is a very small minded view. It will always come down to the individual. Sadly though these are the type of misconceptions that are being perpetuated throughout the industry that somehow a person who holds a degree is more intelligent than an individual without. There are many intelligent, efficient and highly disciplined IT professionals with certifications and no degrees and just like that person with a degree they have to keep their knowledge up to date otherwise they would not survive either. And to do this also takes the same skills it would to earn a degree.

degree is better

you knw the difference between the two is that in a degree a person get taught many different things about the industry at large.As for a person with experience he will start of knowing what that company requires only.So a person with a degree when hired has a broader view of everything hence can modify develop and think of other ways to solve the problem after he got to learn what the company is all about.i.e,what is expected of him.and this will take him les time compared to a person without a degree.

You are right!

I've read all the postings and I find Sediking to have the best reasoning. A person with degree with have wider coverage and good grounding. With the foundation laid over 3 years, it takes lesser time to adapt and apply IT solutions.

But if I may add, LUCK plays a big role. The success stories that you heard of ppl with experience who got hired is due to "luck".. the same goes for the degree person.. right person, right time, right place.

So I wouldn't worry too much either way. Just do your best and hope the best comes to you.

Experience...

I've been in the business for over 19 years without a degree. But my certs are up to date. I am currently working for the state of Idaho as a senior network admin. Certs and experience are what employers look for around here. I know of several who have degree's with no experience. Most of them are slinging hash or have some other unrelated job. A CIO is not going to put a rookie in front of a console, only if there's a seasoned IT Pro to back him or her up, or if they have some kind of OJT/Carreer Development program withing the company.

A Degree helps but isn't all that.

I think a degree often helps you get in the door. It says you committed yourself to something and saw it through. Hopefully you learned a few things along the way as well. Ultimately I think experience is more valuable once you get the job. I believe it also depends on the individual. I now have a degree, but when I first got my job I did not. I sold myself by telling my future boss at the time, among other things how I made a working network hub out of broken parts and a power supply from an old Gateway computer. I got the job not because of a degree, but because of the way I sold my capabilities and work ethic to my prospective employer.

As far as my job is concerned, I learned more about business, networking, computers, and banking (I am in the financial industry), in one year on the job, then I did in the many years of college. I am not saying that college is of no value, but I am saying that I think it is over rated. A whole lot of buck, not much bang. And once I did get my degree? well I am still waiting for that ethereal raise.

To sum it up, College is helpful, experience is great, but ultimately it?s going to come down to the make up of the individual and the ?personality? of the company. Some companies require degrees, some don?t. So do, but will bend the rules.

It is all about the individual

I have been in the industry for 12 years. 2 with the private sector, 4 in a non-profit organization and 6 in state governement. I have an associate degree in advertising design. It does not exactly qualify me for the IT industry. I have A+ cert as well as my CNA. The certs always came down to the employer wanted the peice of paper, but it was the work experience and the knowledge of working on many networks in many environments that got me in the door in the first place.

If the hiring entity needs the skills you posess and you have the personality to sell yourself at an interview (a fair indication as to how well someone may do in giving a presentation) you will be the person hired!

They both open doors, just different ones

After 26 years in the field i know a little about surviving. I also did not have a degree for many years. But when consulting on large $1 mil + clients would ask for resumes from the principles. Even though i had been working in the field for over 16 years at the time and an MCSE for 5 years they wanted to know if we had someone with a degree to lead the progect! Also some companies have the HR hopld that certain titles require a 4 year degree in order to even interview for the job. Those no amount of experience will get you by. Now by the same token a degree with no experience is not a gaurnteed slot either. If the only knowledge base someone has is from the hallowed halls with no practical experience that usually weighs against them also.

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